Rodger Hardy

Rodger Hardy

Rodger Hardy

Pleasant Grove

Pleasant Grove, originally named Battle Creek after a battle between Mormon pioneers and a band of Ute Indians in 1849. Settlement began in earnest with the arrival of William H. Adams, John Mercer and Philo T. Farnsworth, on July 19, 1850. Early Mormon prophet-leader and colonizer Brigham Young sent them to stake out farms in what is now the northeast corner of the city.

Incorporated in 1855, the early residents wanted a more peaceful name and so changed it to Pleasant Grove after a grove of cottonwood trees.

Indian troubles persisted and during the Walker Indian War residents built a fort with homes inside its two- to three-foot thick walls, a portion of which is now the site of a retail store and parking lot near 300 South and 100 West. The city now encompasses 9.2 square miles with about 38,000 residents.

A mayor and city council govern the city, which has a median family income of more than $54,000. Like many Utah cities, Pleasant Grove holds a summer festival, this one dubbed Strawberry Days, which dates to the commercial growing of strawberries. The first Strawberry Festival was held in June 1921. Strawberries are no longer grown commercially in the city.

Pleasant Grove has eight elementary schools, two junior high schools and two high schools. It offers a community center and Veterans Memorial Pool.

The median sales price for a home in Pleasant Grove in late 2016 is between $200,000 ant $250,000, according to the Wasatch Front Multiple Listing Service. However, the majority of home sales are in the $300,000 to $350,000 range.